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NEUROLOGY 1988;38:395
© 1988 American Academy of Neurology

Barbiturate anesthesia in the treatment of status epilepticus

Clinical experience with 14 patients

Daniel H. Lowenstein, MD, Michael J. Aminoff, MD, FRCP and Roger P. Simon, MD

From the Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA. Received January 20, 1987. Accepted for publication in final form July 7, 1987.

We report our experience using barbiturate anesthesia for the treatment of refractory status epilepticus. Following a retrospective review of eight patients treated with a variety of barbiturates and dosing regimens, we established a specific protocol employing pentobarbital and evaluated it prospectively in six patients. Among the 14 patients, intravenous barbiturates, when administered with a loading dose followed by continuous infusion, were uniformly effective in aborting seizures and producing a burst-suppression EEG pattern. Other than the pupillary light reflex, most patients lost all brainstem reflexes and motor responses during therapy. Barbiturate-induced hypotension was observed in 9 of the 14 patients, and required treatment with pressors in seven cases. Three patients died early as a consequence of their underlying illness, while three others died late for reasons unrelated to the status itself or to anticonvulsant therapy. The time to recovery of function following anesthesia varied highly, spanning hours to days for return of motor function and days to weeks for cognition. Of the eight survivors, four were left with mild cognitive deficits, one returned to his baseline dementia, and three had residual encephalopa-thies (severe in two). We conclude that barbiturate anesthesia is an extremely effective therapy for refractory seizures. However, its use necessitates recognition of untoward cardiovascular responses and prolonged intensive care.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Lowenstein, Room 794-M, Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143.




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